July 2, 2009

DreamWorks treated its workers to a summer lunchtime barbecue at the softball fields near our building. They went all out with the summertime treats -- watermelon, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, and sno cones. Being a shave ice purist, this Hawaii girl did not eat one, but I was a big admirer of their aesthetics. What is it about brightly colored foods featured in repetition that make them so enticing? This photo is another example.

July 1, 2009

These stairs belong to a parking structure in downtown San Mateo. I liked the crisscrossing lines.

June 30, 2009

My friend Alicia and I tried out Martin's West Pub in Redwood City before watching The Hangover. My drink came in a copper cup! I also liked how they used old menus as coasters.

June 29, 2009

PDI/DreamWorks had a chalk drawing competition on Friday, June 26. I was out that day, so I was happy to find that the drawings hadn't been washed away over the weekend when I came back to work on Monday. I'm partial to sheeps (yes, sheeps), so this was my favorite. The rendering of a coworker as a Muppet was a close second.

June 28, 2009

My roommate Shiyan is on the left. We have known each other for nine years and have lived together off and on for a little over six of them. This photo is from her farewell dinner and game night. I think she looks a little too happy for someone about to desert her friends during peak summer fun times for Africa and Spain and then move all the way to the other side of the country. But that's probably just me.

June 27, 2009

Photo of the local photo supply store where I rented the external flash for the wedding the day before. I took it with the widest setting of the zoom lens I borrowed from a friend. I was surprised to see the curved warping at the top. Good to know.

June 26, 2009

In March, my former supervisor at DreamWorks asked if I would be available to be her assistant photographer at a wedding. She promised to pay, and I readily agreed. We were on our feet for eight hours, from pre-wedding photographs through the ceremony, dinner, toasts, reception, cake cutting, and dancing. It was pretty tiring, especially since the external flash made my camera extra heavy. In the end, I took over 1000 photos. Cutting them down was a challenge, as was choosing just one as my photo of the day. This is my favorite because the cake immediately conveys the location, and because the mirror reflects other happy couples at the wedding.

Seventy-one of my other favorites are viewable here.

June 25, 2009

Time and inspiration were running thin when I returned home late at night. I decided to take the opportunity to learn more about my camera controls, namely how to manually set the white balance. It was simple to do, and the difference it made was amazing. Many thanks to Clever Boots for being a willing subject.

June 24, 2009

Celebrating the end of Bob's Big Break ... with cupcakes and champagne. The short will be released with the Monsters versus Aliens DVD on September 29, 2009.

June 23, 2009

This tiger has seen some action. Are those claw marks?

June 22, 2009

Cupcake supplies. We were celebrating the impending weddings of two of the lighters on my team, so it was only natural that we eat cupcakes and drink champagne at our weekly team meeting.

June 21, 2009

My roommate Melissa and I experienced the paranormal sensation known as roomie telepathy when we both craved ice cream at exactly the same time. It's such a rare occurrence that we had to succumb, especially given that it fell on the first day of summer. Taking the photo in front of a nondescript wall proved a much better strategy than the initial shots with busy University Avenue as the background.

June 20, 2009

Four friends and I took about five hours to complete the 11.5 mile round trip hike to Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin State Park. I've always enjoyed waterfall photos and the way the water blends together into one cascading white ribbon, so I was looking forward to trying my DSLR on the hike's namesake waterfall. I set the camera to shutter priority mode and experimented to see the effect of different shutter speeds. The moving water looks especially good against the static detail of the mossy rocks on either side of it.

More photos from the hike can be seen by clicking here.

June 19, 2009

After my March 12 aquarium frustration at the California Academy of Sciences, I made sure to bring my old Olympus point and shoot along on my visit to see the seahorses, sea dragons, jellyfish, and otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Overall, I was very pleased with the photos I took. Then again, my sister's photos taken with the same Canon point and shoot that I now own also turned out well. We both agreed that this aquarium had exceptional lighting for its exhibits. Maybe that's the bigger factor in the disparity between my photo experiences.

The rest of the Monterey photos can be seen by clicking here.

June 18, 2009

My sister made me promise to wait until she was in town to see Up because she wanted to see it together. It was a hard wait -- I even considered sneaking in a first screening and pretending that it was new to me when Becca and I finally sat down in the movie theater together. But my willpower prevailed, and I managed to restrain myself. Credibility intact, we shared our enjoyment of Pixar's latest at a late night showing at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco. Now I want to see it again. Squirrel!

June 17, 2009

Poor Murray. He puts up with so much. This defiant look is the one he should have when we dress him up in backpacks, socks, bows, headbands, t-shirts, etc. Usually it's more sheepish and put-upon with a "What are you doing to me now?" feel. (For that one, click here. It would have been today's photo, but my focus was in the wrong place.)

I wish I'd been able to get his whole face in focus, but if I had upped the aperture, the whole photo would have been blurry. Just wait until I get an external flash!